


Light Up My Night

by LittleMissHeartfillia



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/F, Fluff, GAAAYYYYY, High School AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 22:36:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15783516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissHeartfillia/pseuds/LittleMissHeartfillia
Summary: Sting Eucliffe is a senior now and finally has to face his one and maybe only chance to ask his high school crush out. With the help of Minerva and Yukino things get a little more than nerve-wracking.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while ago but in the inevitable demise of the trash site that is tumblr I should probably immortalize it here too. Enjooyyy~

**_*Text Messages_ **

Sting sat in a quiet room, staring blankly at the last page of homework he had for the night. He sighed. Homework was the bane of his existence and it was bad enough that chemistry wasn’t his strongest subject but it was eleven at night and he could hardly keep his attention for more than ten seconds.

He glanced at his phone for the twentieth time that night. It was tempting him like no tomorrow. ‘ _ What’s the harm of a little mental break’ _ The distracted half of his brain told him, but the better half of his brain reminded him that he had just had a mental break that consisted of two hours on social media and not an inch of the page completed. He picked up the phone anyway. 

After checking social media, that had literally not changed at all since he last looked at it, he decided to see if Rogue was still awake.

**_Hey you awake?_ ** He waited a few seconds, staring at the screen and hoping for a reply. His fingers typed out a second message,  **_If yes, can you come and smash my head into a wall. This homework is killing me…_ **

It was a few seconds of staring at the ceiling before a  _ ~DING~  _ sounded, signaling Rogue’s reply. He looked at the text.  **_If you had paid attention in class today maybe your homework would be done already._ **

**_Why pay attention when I have you? What’s the answer to question 20?_ **

**_Question 20 is a short essay if I gave you my answer it’d be copying and we’d both get in trouble._ **

**_C’mon, can’t you just change it up a little? That way it’s not REALLY copying!_ **

Sting could practically see the roll of eyes and deadpanned look Rogue was giving his phone right now. 

**_One of these days you’re gonna have to be more responsible._ ** Sting was thinking of a reply when Rogue sent another message.  **_Why are you up this late doing homework anyway? We had two weeks to get that assignment done._ **

Sting grimaced when he recalled everything he had done for the past two weeks, all of it consisting of nothing but procrastinating in any way he could. He had even finally cleaned out his car the day before as an excuse not to do homework.

**_Well, ya see...The thing about that is, I was pretty busy all week!_ ** He wasn’t fooling anyone.

**_Which translates into ‘I’m lazy and don’t wanna do my homework’_ **

**_Wow you read my mind. You know me so well._ ** Rogue replied with his usual bored faced emoji.  **_Well I’m not getting anywhere with this homework so...wanna go for a walk with me?_ **

**_Sting, it’s nearly midnight. We have school tomorrow._ **

**_Yeah but you’re a night owl anyway and we won’t be out for long!_ **

He could almost hear the exasperated sigh that came from Rogue’s lips. He already knew what his answer was going to be before he replied. Sting didn’t need him to say anything, he knew Rogue would come anyway.

**_Fine. But this better be worth it._ **

“Yes!” He said aloud, quietly enjoying his victory. After sending a quick reply Sting got off the bed, completely abandoning his still unfinished homework. He got dressed and opened the window to his room. Thank god he had convinced his dad to let him have the ground floor bedroom. It made it so much easier to leave undetected. Not that his dad knew that, or ever would. 

Sting met Rogue in their usual spot, the meeting point halfway between both of their houses, on a normally quiet suburban street under the light of the lampposts. Seeing Rogue in person somehow made Sting’s breath quicken. He was wearing black skinny jeans with his dad’s coat protecting him from the winter air. But what really drew Sting’s attention was that cursed ponytail of his. The way his chin length black hair just fell over the back of his neck had him entranced and the way his bangs hung freely, a little bit messy but tame too, like a mild bedhead. Sting could only think about how hot it made him look. And those reading glasses that framed his face perfectly were taking his breath away. Sting was a sucker for guys in glasses and he guessed Rogue hadn’t bothered to put his contacts in like normal, so he could be blessed with his favorite sight.

_ God, I’m hopeless aren’t I, _ he thought. He knew he had a crush on Rogue. He had known since freshman year of high school and yet here he was, both of them seniors and he had yet to ask out the love of his life. Looking at Rogue now he didn’t think he would. Love is a complicated thing and the last thing he wanted was to ruin their good friendship. 

Rogue’s face was unsurprisingly emotionless. Though as he approached Sting noticed those red orbs of his growing a little softer in his expression. 

“Glad you came.” Sting started the greeting. 

“Like I had a choice. I’ve learned you can be extremely persistent when you want something.”

“But you don’t mind it anyway,” Sting said, a grin spreading across his face as he walked, his company falling into step beside him. 

Rogue didn’t bother giving him an answer. For a while they walked in silence. Sting had no words to say that Rogue didn’t already know and he didn’t feel a need to say anything anyway. They were comfortable that way. Another thing Sting didn’t want to ruin. When they finally reached the park a question popped into his mind. 

“So, are you gonna sign up to be prom king?”

“What’s the point.” Rogue replied, not breaking his attention from the path in front of him. “I don’t have a date, I hate dances, and I’m pretty sure you’d be the only one to vote for me.” 

“Aw c’mon, Rogue,” Sting pleaded. “You only get one prom. Besides what if you actually are chosen for prom king?”

Rogue scoffed. “Then they’ll be s-o-l ‘cause I’m not going.” 

“There’s no changing your mind, huh?” Rogue shook his head, confirming Sting’s question. “Not even if I go with ya?”

Rogue hesitated for a moment then looked at Sting, curiously. “You seem unusually interested in this. Why?”

Rogue raised his eyebrow and the little pout he did was so damn cute that Sting had to stop himself from blushing by covering it up with laughter. “I just think it’d be fun, is all!” 

Rogue made a  _ pfft _ sound with his lips. “Sure. I’ll sign up for prom king when you agree to be prom queen.” He was being sarcastic, that was clear enough in his tone. Still Sting took it to the next level, wondering how far he could push the boy.

“What if I already did?” he said as he looked over and gave him a mischievous smirk. Rogue stopped in his tracks.

“You didn’t?” 

Sting just shrugged, reveling in his friends confused but mostly surprised face for a few seconds before saying. “Nah! I’m just messing with ya!” Rogue rolled his eyes and kept walking.

By the end of the night it seemed they had talked for hours. Rogue checked his phone, it had only been two hours but he followed that up by saying he had to get home and sleep.

So Sting and Rogue parted once more by the lamppost. As Rogue walked away, his mind went back to their conversation of the prom. This was their senior year and it was almost over! He’d waited so damn long for any sign that Rogue liked him back but the guy was too damn unreadable. Sting could never tell if he actually liked him. Even if he didn’t Sting couldn’t let their last year in high school go by without saying  _ something _ . He wondered how hard it would actually be to sign up for Prom Queen...Maybe if he talked to the principal and got enough of his friends to back him up it’d be possible. Maybe then he would finally have the courage to fess up.

Maybe him and Rogue...He shook his head. He was just thinking romantically again, Rogue probably didn’t like him like that. Besides Sting had never seen Rogue with anyone, he wasn’t even sure that his friend was gay, or on the spectrum at all. Sting turned around and quietly walked back to his place. 

When he plopped down onto his bed, after shoving all other items off it including his phone and laptop, he just lay there in thought. It looked like it was gonna be another sleepless night for him.

 

“Yukino, you gotta help me!” Sting shouted while running up to his silver headed friend. She was standing with her girlfriend, Minerva, eating lunch by a tree outside the lunch hall. For all his years of high school, and probably even before, Minerva and Yukino had been his biggest supporters of his crush on Rogue. Many times they had tried to set up a scene but Sting would chicken out at the last minute or mess up his line, scared of making Rogue uncomfortable. 

Both girls turned as he ran up to them, out of breath and bent over panting. Sting was never the athletic type and a run from the main buildings to the opposite side of the campus was a long one.

“Sting? What’s wrong?” Yukino began. While her head was turned Minerva stole a strawberry from her lunch box, Sting ignored it.

He straightened up, finally taking a deep breath and saying; “I wanna ask Rogue to go to prom with me!”

Yukino’s expression changed to one of sympathy, and it looked like Minerva was just barely refusing the urge to roll her eyes. 

“Well if you really want to ask him you should just say it. You know Rogue would want you to be honest with him,” said Yukino. Sting nodded his head and took a seat with his legs crossed right in front of them. He placed his arms on his knees and closed his eyes as if in a serious meditation process.

“Yeah, and we all know how well that went down last year at winter carnival.” The last time Sting tried to ask Rogue to a dance it ended up with his face in some poor students lunch tray and one of his shoes flung across the room. It was a long story.

Yukino faked a laugh for pity’s sake. “Well, that is true.” 

It was Minerva’s turn to speak up. When she did she grabbed Sting’s shoulders and forced him to look at her. “Listen, Yukino’s right, if you really want Rogue to go to the dance with you just ask him! A simple question isn’t gonna ruin anything. And don’t be a coward!” She wagged her finger in his face, speaking the last words with conviction. 

Sting crossed his arms. “Easy for you to say, no one cares about a lesbian relationship! Just last week Freed tried to come out and got a slushie thrown in his face!”

“But those kids weren’t even from our school.” Yukino reminded him. “And remember what Laxus did to them after they pulled that stunt.” Sting remembered well. It was all the school could talk about, and still talked about. Laxus hadn’t left any one of those guys without a bruise, and it seemed a relationship between the two was still up in the air. 

“Yeah but Rogue isn’t Laxus and neither am I. Besides, I don’t even know if Rogue  _ likes _ guys! He’s never showed an interest in anyone!”

“Anyone but you,” Yukino said, matter of factly. It was spoken quietly but Sting had picked up on it and stared at her in confusion. 

Minerva chimed in; “Tell me you’ve noticed the way he looks at you when you’re both in class?”

Sting shrugged, the girls groaned. “I tried asking him to prom last night, or rather asking if he was going. He said he wasn’t even interested. I figured if I could at least ask him to a dance maybe I wouldn’t chicken out again…” Minerva’s brow was furrowed for a while, deep in thought. “What?” Sting asked, confused at her lack of words.

“I think I have a plan, and one that you can’t back out of!” Sting’s eyes widened with rapt attention as Minerva leaned in closer to explain. “Ok, all you have to do is get Rogue to go to prom with you, not as a date, not yet anyway. Just convince him it’ll be fun to go. Yukino and I will take care of the rest.”

Sting raised an eyebrow. “Oookaay…” Then he perked up, eager to listen, “What’s your plan, then?”

Minerva gave an evil grin, “It’s not gonna work right if you know too. Just get Rogue to come to prom. I promise it’ll be worth it!” She winked and gave him a thumbs up. Just then the late bell for his classes rang.

“Shit! I’ll be late for class again!” He cried and stood up with a running start toward the building. “See ya later, guys!” He called back to Yukino and Minerva, yelling out a, “I haven’t even done the homework!” in his existential crisis to get to chemistry class. 

When he finally recovered his bag from his locker and made it to the chemistry door he had to witness every eye in class staring at him as he awkwardly knocked on the locked door. The chemistry professor, a tall elderly women who held a deadly eagle eye glare, opened the door with a scowl. She didn’t move from the doorway as she spoke with him.

“Why are you late, Mr. Eucliffe?” 

“I’m sorry, Ms. Porlyusica. I forgot my textbook in one of my classes and had to go back to get it.” It was a poor excuse but one she seemed to take with only an intensified frown. She didn’t say anything else, just stepped aside to let Sting in. Then she took her spot back in front of the class.

Sting dropped his bag by his usual seat next to Rogue and sat down with a sigh, putting his head on his arms in defeat.

“That’s a lie ‘cause I have your textbook right here.” Rogue leaned in and whispered into his ear. 

Sting perked up when he was handed his book. “What! I thought I lost that, where was it?”

“Under your desk as always, idiot.” 

Sting took his textbook and hugged it to his chest. “You’re a lifesaver!”

“You can thank me later. Class is starting.” 

So he said, but Sting could hardly pay attention. Not with Rogue's red glasses that matched his eyes and every five minutes when he subconsciously tucked another piece of his bangs behind his ear as he took notes. Once again that ponytail Rogue had started to favor was Sting’s arch nemesis. 

In the middle of her lecture, Ms. Porlyusica stopped to announce his distraction to the whole class. “Mr. Eucliffe!” She began, her voice filling up the otherwise quiet room. “If you paid half as much attention to this class as you pay to your friend over there maybe you wouldn’t be failing!”

A few kids in class snickered, some others looked at him with remarks of ‘ouch’ and sympathetic faces. Rogue was distracted from his papers where he was writing down notes and looked at Sting in confusion. He felt his face grow hot and imagined he must look so red, the thought only made it worse. Sting slunk down in his chair, picked up his pencil, and started to write notes from the board in his notebook. He mumbled out a, “Sorry, Ms. Porlyusica.” Then kept writing, making sure to avoid eye contact with Rogue, and everyone else. 

So he had survived chemistry class, and thankfully Rogue didn’t bring up the subject of Ms. Porlyusica’s outburst. Sting kept quiet for the rest of the day, saving himself from further embarrassment. 

It took it’s sweet time but finally school ended. Sting waved a goodbye back to his classmates, Natsu and Gajeel, then took off down the hallway. Hoping to meet Rogue and ask him about prom before he left.

Per the norm Rogue was waiting outside the main doors for Sting. Minerva and Yukino were chatting with him while Orga, Rufus, Dobengal and Dhoot, one the newest members to the school and one with a very strange nickname, were chatting a few feet away. 

“Took you long enough.” Rogue teased with a sly smile as Sting walked up to them. 

“Shuddup! Not my fault your class lets out ten minutes early.” 

Rogue chuckled. Sting wanted desperately to say something about prom but he couldn’t find the words to change the subject and choked up instead. It seemed that’s what friends were for as Yukino put his thoughts into words.

“So, are you guys going to prom?” 

Rogue didn’t answer immediately and Minerva interjected with a playful, “You better be! Everyone else is going and it wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t end the school year with each other.” 

“When you put it that way, it makes it hard for me to refuse,” said Rogue with a slight frown. “But you know I’m not the dress up type, and dances were never my thing.”

“Then we’ll just stand in the corner all night, who cares!” Sting found the courage to speak up. “We only have one prom! We should spend it together.”

“Fine, but I’m not going to dance.” Even as Rogue said it Sting could see a small smile lighting up his face, which in turn made his own smile wider. 

The group talked for a while longer, as they always did at the end of the school day, then said their goodbyes. As Sting was driving home there was only one thing on his mind. Where he was gonna find a tux for prom night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sting and Rogue's prom ends in a big way!

If he had thought buying a tux and dressing up to go out on his only prom night with all his friends was going to be anything but full of drama he was wrong. Rufus and Ogra had riled up all the students of their high school and almost started a fight with the kids from Fairy Tail High. Sabertooth was a big school but they had all decided to do a joint prom with Fairy Tail High School due to the fact that many students already knew everyone there, having grown up in the same gigantic elementary school. 

Not ten minutes into the party and the punch bowl was already spiked, leaving many students tipsy and a few of them passed out in the corner by the speakers. How anyone could fall asleep when the music and screaming voices were so loud, he had no idea, but even still the faculty had to come and escort the drunken kids home. Sting saw Cana and Bacchus as one of them, both of whom snuck away to meet their friends back on the dancefloor. 

Yukino and Minerva had slipped away some time during the middle of the night, to where he had no clue. After they left with a very quick goodbye to Sting and Rogue, the two remaining were left with nothing to do. Sting had tried to get Rogue on the dance floor but he simply refused to budge and even looked more uncomfortable the harder Sting pressed him on it. 

The good news was the school’s dance hall had looked like something out of a fairy tale when he walked in. The theme for the prom was Enchanted Forest so the art and sculpture club went all out making life like cardboard trees and painted wall paper that were both pinned up on the walls. They covered the bricks and gave the illusion the dance floor was in the middle of a deep dark forest, even the velvety green rug looked like grass as you walked in. Lights hung from the cathedral ceiling at least ten feet up but they were dimmed and covered with colored paper, making them glow with an array of colors, like actual fairies. There were tables surrounding the dance floor, carved wood with vine like decorations and a single lotus flower lamp in the center. The feast table was at least eight feet long with leaves scattered about it, Sting had already spent the entirety of his night there, getting food for all his friends and using it as an excuse to escape awkward conversations.

Now, two hours into the night, almost the entire feast table was cleared off, a table was toppled in the corner that the faculty hadn’t noticed yet because they were too busy trying to control the rowdy high schoolers. More than a few of the hanging lamps had those vine decorations tossed over it and he wondered how it had gotten up that high. Most of the lotus lamps were missing as well, they had looked like they were just cheaply bought at the nearest dollar store so why anyone would want to steal it was beyond him.

“Hey!” He shouted over the loud pop music and the screaming from the dance floor. Even so it was only when Sting walked in front of Rogue, two cups of punch in his hands, that the black haired boy noticed him. “Want some punch?” He extended one cup to him and Rogue scowled.

“Wasn’t that spiked?” He raised an eyebrow and Sting had to stop himself from face palming.

He sat down in the chair beside Rogue and placed the cups on the table. “Oh, yeah...Forgot about that…” Rogue shrugged and looked away disinterested. Sting sighed under his breath and quickly gulped down a cup when Rogue wasn’t looking. Maybe booze was just what he needed to get this edge off. 

After a few seconds of having nothing to say he prodded Rogues side and tried to whisper but had to yell, in his ear. “Let’s get out of here!”

Rogue couldn’t have looked happier as he followed Sting out the double doors. They finally took deep breaths once they were outside the transformed gym-into-dance-hall. It wasn’t the best change, considering the hallway outside the gym smelled of last nights football practice but Sting would take this over an overcrowded, out of control prom. He had no idea high schoolers could be such animals, he didn’t much care for it and by the look on his friends face neither did Rogue.

The closed double doors muffled out some of the sound until they could speak and be heard without shouting again. “Thanks.” Rogue looked at him and smiled. Sting felt his heart skip a beat. Not only had Rogue decided to make his hair perfect in that damn ponytail tonight but he had found a tux that not only looked good but looked sharp and clean cut. Classic black tux with a light blue vest and tie that shouldn’t have worked as well as it did, especially considering Rogue had only worn it on Sting’s request that they be matching. Him with that black tux and light blue vest and Sting with the same vest, a bowtie and a white tux. He looked so damn good he was like a fucking model that had just rolled off the 2-sexy-4-you Train. 

“The dance was fun, but after a while it gets tiring,” the model spoke.

Sting laughed to cover up the fact he had been staring. “Yeah, especially when everyone we know has suddenly been turned into drunken party monsters!” He brought his hands up to his forehead and waved them around ridiculously, making Rogue laugh. 

They continued off down the hallway. Sting tried not to think about how hot Rogue looked in that tux and how much hotter he would be without it on. It didn’t work. “I’m glad you guys talked me into coming tonight.” Rogue said after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “You were right. we only have one prom, and if I hadn’t come I would have missed Gajeel losing that bet. Who would have thought he actually made that song for Levy?”

Sting laughed again, smiling at Rogue. “Yeah, too bad he can’t sing for crap though!” 

“And I thought for sure that Gray wasn’t going to lick [it] but a bet is a bet as he put it.”  And here, kids, is where the ‘it’ that Gray licked is not discussed. Sting burst out cackling.

“Erza thought so too when she climbed all the way up to the lights,” Sting said. Rogue snickered, remembering the shenanigans of the night very well. In a way it was no different from any other dance that Sabertooth or Fairy High School held. If it was one thing the two schools were known for it was getting a little more rowdy than they should. Combine them together and...well Sting couldn’t see how the faculty missed the blatant fact this dance would turn out as it did.

Sting and Rogue had travelled the school hallways for a while. Eventually they had gotten to a point where they were just roaming, talking about anything and everything. Sting was finally feeling some of the nervousness and pressure of this night lift, he had wanted to ask Rogue to dance or at least ask him if he had feelings for Sting as well, but it never seemed like the right time. Now suddenly he wanted to shout it out, he wanted everyone to know, especially Rogue. He wondered if that spiked punch had done more than just take the edge off. 

“Why do you keep dodging it?” Rogue asked after they had been silent for a while. For a second Sting felt fear crawl in his stomach wondering if maybe Rogue had meant what he thought he meant.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, still trying to hold his hopeful smile together. 

“I know you have a crush on me, so why do you keep dodging it? You could have just talked to me about it sooner.”

He was floored, his forward motion stopped. This was it, this was the moment he had waited for since freshmen year so why did he feel like his entire world was crumbling? He had gotten so used to keeping up the visage of him not having feelings for Rogue that he didn’t know how he would handle it if the truth came to light. Now here is Rogue saying he knew, maybe for as long as Sting did, and suddenly Sting felt like a fraud. 

“I-...” He stammered for a second, then closed his mouth before he could make a fool of himself. Rogue faced him. Everything about that look made his heart beat faster as his throat stopped working. Rogue didn’t look upset or angry, he just stood there with a patient smile and kindness in his red eyes. “How long have you known…” It was probably better to ask the obvious question. 

“Not really sure, it just dawned on me one day. I think it was sophomore year when we went to that water park.” He chuckled, “You tried so hard to win those prizes for me it was hard not to notice!” 

Red hot embarrassment filled his cheeks, Sting couldn’t believe this. It was that obvious? Rogue had known since sophomore year? But neither said anything until now… He hung his head, suddenly but not surprisingly, scared of rejection.

“Sorry…” He had no idea what he was apologizing for. As if that was what you were supposed to say when your crush of four years tells you he knew you had liked him for more than half that time.

Rogue looked surprised when Sting finally managed to look him in the eye again. “What are you apologizing for?  I never said anything until now cause I figured you were working up the courage to say something yourself. Also it was amusing watching you try to impress me all the time.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Sting cried, finding his voice through his annoyance. “ _ That’s _ why you never said anything? And to think all those times I wanted to say something but never had the balls and you come out saying you knew the whole time?!” 

Rogue didn’t respond immediately just stepped a little closer to Sting, so close that Sting could feel his breath down his chin and his ears reddened with the tight proximity. “Sting, you’re more obviously gay than anyone I’ve ever met. I’m pretty sure the whole school knew.”

“Dammit.” He cursed under his breath and avoided eye contact. Rogue stepped back again and laughed. 

“So what are you gonna do? Now that you know?” If the previous statement hadn’t caught Sting off guard then he was practically swimming in confusion now. He had no idea what he was going to do, he never thought he would get this far. 

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was a spur of the moment but instead of answering him, he put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him against the lockers. He tried to look like he had this under control, tried to look like he wasn’t completely embarrassed and actually had a clue about what he was doing but he feared the end result wasn’t what he wanted. He hoped that  _ thud _ he heard as Rogue hit the metal lockers wasn’t as bad as he thought, and he prayed for his cheeks to stop burning...but they didn’t. And Rogue still stood there, with a perfectly content look on his face, the bastard. 

Sting didn’t trust himself enough to not mess up his words so he acted, pressing his parted lips to Rogues without holding back. Every time he had seen that ponytail and beautiful figure tempting him, every damn time he had ever wanted to be more than friends flashed through his mind. He was surprised to find that Rogue kissed back, even lifted his hand to cup Sting’s cheek and pull him closer.

It was at least a minute later when they pulled apart, Sting was breathing heavily but that might have just been from his racing heart. He stepped back, releasing Rogue shoulders and waist he hadn’t known he’d been holding. “Sorry, was that weird? That was weird, wasn’t it?” 

Rogue’s smug grin came back. “What I didn’t tell you before is that I was waiting for you to say something because I was too shy to do it myself.”

“What?”

It was Rogue’s turn to be embarrassed and he shifted his eyes as he spoke. “Your crush...wasn’t unreciprocated. But I still had this fear that I was mistaken, and you didn’t have feelings for me. A fear that I was just deluding myself…”

Rogue trailed off with his thoughts, he looked like he wanted to say more but was holding back. God, how those lips begged Sting to kiss them again. Instead, he opted for the less forward approach. He slipped his fingers into Rogues, easily dawning a new smile as he asked, “Will you go out with me?”

Rogue’s smile that came next melted Sting’s heart. This boy would be the death of him one day, he swore it. “Thought you’d never ask.” Suddenly, Rogue cupped his hand around Sting’s chin and pulled his face forward until they were kissing again.

An unusually loud screaming of voices jerked him back into reality and he pulled away from Rogue.  _ That’s right! _ he remembered.  _ Yukino and Minerva told me we had to be there for the naming of King and Queen! _

“Shit, I forgot about that!” He spoke, finishing his thoughts out loud. Rogue however wasn’t in the loop and looked at him with a confused expression until Sting simply ran back down the hall, still gripping Rogue’s hand and forcing him to follow. 

“What the hell are you doing?” he protested but Sting didn’t stop until they were back at the double doors, panting and out of breath. But they had made it in time. A very self-conscious Kagura, the student council president, was just stepping up to the mic to announce the King and Queen. 

“Ah, we made it!” Sting said with a smile. Rogue opened his mouth again but Yukino and Minerva spotted them then, they must have come back from wherever they went earlier and were waiting for Sting to get his act together. 

“Where were you two!” Minerva scolded, immediately taking Sting and Rogue’s arms and dragging them to the back of the crowd on the dance floor. 

“Sorry, but we’re here now.” Sting said, Minerva simply glared at him. 

“Just in time too.” Yukino said with a sweet smile. 

Kagura had already started her speech and was just now reading from an index card in her hand. “The winner of the title of Fairy King is,” She flipped the card over and Sting couldn’t help but notice the slight tint of red on her ears the longer she stood there. Through her stage fright and Sting’s butterflies she said, “Rogue Cheney!” The entire crowd roared and looked back at Sting and Rogue. Rogue’s mouth dropped, a blush formed on his cheeks. He hesitated. 

It wasn’t until Sting pushed him forward that he began the walk up to the stage, with protests of “But I didn’t even enter my name in the nominations?” 

“Too late, now!” Natsu called as he helped push the stunned boy through the crowd. 

“Congrats, man.” Jellal called. Cobra gave him a thumbs up as he stepped onto the stairs. 

Rogue took a deep breath and walked up to Kagura, who presented the two girls who held the crowns. Millianna had the King’s crown and she placed it on Rogue’s head. It didn’t look like anything special, just a cardboard frame, with spraypainted foam around it and lavish looking felt for the inside. Sting laughed and snapped a picture on his zoomed in phone camera. He wanted to remember that face for the rest of his life.

But it was Sting’s turn to share the spotlight as Kagura continued the announcement. “The winner of the title for Fairy Queen is,” She paused shortly then kept reading with a slight smile. “Sting Eucliffe!”

Once again his ears grew red hot. One glance to Minerva’s grin beside him told him all he needed to know. 

“You didn’t…” He breathed out but Yukino was already urging him to go forward with a big smile. 

“But I did.” She mouthed back but Sting had no time to keep his calm. The entire school had their eyes on him. More than that, he was just crowned queen! His first and only prom and he gets crowned Queen while his crush is the King? Was that even allowed? 

He stepped next to Rogue, both sharing faces of uncertainty. Beth had the Queen’s crown and she congratulated Sting as she placed it on his head. 

Kagura continued speaking, saying something about a hand for the King and Queen but Sting was too awestruck to comprehend it. This was what Minerva meant when she told Sting to make sure Rogue goes to prom! But of course, Minerva’s not one for subtlety, he should have expected something as extravagant as this. Now he could only stare at the applauding crowd and hope to god that any angry homophobes they had in their school had stayed home today. 

Kagura announced, after the clapping died down, that it was tradition for King and Queen to lead the rest of the school in the last slow dance of the night. Rogue turned to Sting, his eyes pleading a question Sting couldn’t answer.

“That means us,” he said, offering his hand to Rogue.

It was possibly the most embarrassing moment of his life, but also one of the best. One he’d remember for years to come. Finally the rest of school begun their dance after Sting and Rogue, who took a spot right in front of the stage. 

“Well, this is unexpected…” Rogue began and Sting could only chuckle. “Is this what you guys meant when you said you wanted me to go to prom?” 

“This was all Minerva’s idea I swear!” he said quickly. 

“And you’re the Queen? I thought King and Queen’s were strictly a straight relationship?”

“Hey, it’s 2016. The world’s more progressive than that, I guess.”

Sting was relieved when Rogue let out a chuckle. With all the bodies in here and his embarrassment plus the close contact with Rogue he was feeling like he was gonna pass out from heat exhaustion, but maybe that was just his light headedness. His hands must have been so clammy and he knew his shirt was soaked with sweat, he could only hope it didn't seep through his jacket. Rogue had his hands on Sting’s waist and Sting draped his own over Rogue’s shoulder. The position gave Rogue the leverage he needed to pull Sting closer to him and stop their swaying and spinning with a quick, but passionate, kiss.

By the time the song was over it seemed like the entire school had come up to them and congratulated them. 

“Never thought I’d see the day you two finally get together!” Natsu and Gray came up saying. 

“It’s about damn time!” Ogra spoke as he slapped a hand on Sting’s back with a hearty, bellowing laugh.

“I gotta be honest,” Loke said with Lucy attached to his arm. “When Minerva came up and told us to vote for you I thought she was crazy. I’m glad it worked out, though. You two deserve to be happy together.” He left with a quick reassuring pat to Rogue’s shoulder.

“It’s good to see you two together.” Freed said as he walked up to them. “We were waiting for something to happen between you two.”

“It’s true.” Laxus continued. “Who would’ve thought it would be you two crowned King and Queen?” He laughed then they both kept walking as the crowd filed out of the double doors. 

The Fairy King and Queen finally met up with Yukino and Minerva who were waiting for them by the entrance to the gym.

“That was your plan?!” Sting cried out to Minerva, who only smiled in return. 

“It worked didn’t it!” She said with a shrug. Sting had to do a facepalm. 

“How did you even get this to work?” Rogue asked. 

“You’d be surprised how many people will vote for someone if you ask them.” Minerva said.

“Meaning that she threatened anyone who said no,” Yukino corrected with an out of place and innocent smile.

Minerva rolled her eyes. “Only like three people refused and they just needed a little persuasion!”

“It was five and you looked like you were going to kill them,” she corrected again.

Sting had to laugh. “Whatever! I don’t even care!” He threw both his arms over Yukino and Minerva’s shoulders, laughing and smiling as big as he could in the process. “You guys rock!” 

“We’re not done yet!” Minerva said, making Sting pause. “Turn around.”

Sting turned around, as did Rogue. The students had all filed out of the building already, and he couldn’t deny the dance floor looked like a tornado had torn through it. Plastic cups were thrown everywhere, the decorations were all torn and tossed sadly to the floor. And a few of the hanging lamps had even fallen to the ground, now lying, with parts scattered, in one corner of the room. Yukino bent down and grabbed a cord, one he guessed went to the hanging lamps as the lights all went out. She grabbed another cord and plugged it into the extension. Instantly the lamps were relit but there was something else to them, something that Sting hadn’t noticed before. In addition to the colored lamps there were small strings of what looked to be holiday lights, spanning the distance from wall to wall across the whole ceiling. There were also smaller lights set every few feet and at differing heights across the room. With no stretch of the imagination Sting could see them flying like little fireflies. And he didn’t miss the way the holiday lights were organized in a rainbow, classic gay pride style.

“Are you okay, Sting?” He was broken from the trance when Yukino spoke. It was then he realized that a tear had fallen from his cheek. He quickly wiped it away and gave her a big smile, followed by a hug.

He looked at Rogue, still standing in front of him and staring at the lights. He placed a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. Oh, how nice it felt to call him that! “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

He stood beside Rogue and finally noticed the tears streaming down his face. Rogue gave a sniffle. “Whoa, what’s wrong?” He was in front of Rogue, grasping his shoulders in a split second. 

Rogue let his head fall as he wiped the tears, “Nothing. I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay?” Sting pressed, worry stitched into his eyebrows. The only answer Rogue offered was another kiss followed by a tight hug. 

“Thanks…” He said it softly and somehow Sting knew that one word meant the world to him. He laughed and when they broke apart Sting was smiling in his usually cheerful way. 

“Man, you’re such a sap! Crying over just a few lights!” he teased. 

“Shut up, you were too!” Rogue countered and that was when Sting knew, love had not ruined their friendship...it had made it stronger.


End file.
